You are here

Groundwater

Groundwater - Overview and Methodology

Introduction

Unlike rivers, which are visible linear features in the landscape, aquifers are three-dimensional structures hidden underground. As a result, the aquifer boundaries are unknown and therefore not well defined. This is also the case in Western Asia, where regional hydrogeological specificities pose additional challenges to the identification and delineation of aquifer systems. This Inventory identifies and describes 17 aquifer systems in 17 separate chapters. These aquifer systems are located across the three Western Asia sub-regions: the Arabian Peninsula, the Mashrek and Mesopotamia (including Taurus-Zagros). Each groundwater basin chapter follows the standard structure outlined in the table below and provides information on all relevant keywords, to the extent possible.

The 'Overview & Methodology: Groundwater' chapter introduces these shared aquifer systems, by defining the terminology used in the groundwater chapters and then presenting the methodology and approaches that helped identify, delineate, characterize and describe the shared aquifer systems in the region. The aquifer systems are then categorized and briefly described. Finally, the structure of the groundwater chapters and the parameters used to characterize the aquifers and aquifer systems are outlined.

The Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia is a comprehensive report published by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) and the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).